Myotonic dystrophy associated with thyroid disease.

Two patients with hereditary, clinical, electromyographical and histological data typical of myotonic dystrophy are discussed. In both there was a thyroid disorder. The first patient had primary hypothyroidism, and the second a non-toxic multinodular goiter which necessitated total thyroidectomy. The EMG findings and the muscle histopathology of both patients are commented on and compared with the changes described in hypothyroidism. The disease processes in both patients are also discussed in relation to the muscle and metabolic changes described in myotonic dystrophy. The coexistence of these two diseases is not explicable in the light of present knowledge on the basis of a known genetic predisposition. Only two similar cases of myotonic dystrophy and hypothyroidism have been reported.

Conn's syndrome in a patient with acromegaly.

The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) in a female patient suffering from acromegaly and severe hypertension was studied and a suppressed plasma renin activity could be found. A catheterisation of both adrenal veins, a bilateral adrenal gammagraphy and an abdominal CT scan confirmed the diagnosis of an aldosterone-producing right adrenal adenoma (Conn's Syndrome). We greatly emphasized the need of investigating the RAAS in acromegalic patients suffering from hypertension.